BAGHDAD — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was greeted with hugs and kisses Sunday at the start of his historic visit to Iraq, marking a dramatic break with the past for the former foes and a new challenge to U.S. influence in Iraq.

The grandeur of the visit came in stark contrast to the rushed, secretive trips made by President Bush, signaling that Iran is a dominant player in Iraq’s affairs, despite the U.S. occupation and U.S.-led efforts to isolate the Iranian regime.

“You can tell Mr. Bush that accusing others will only compound America’s problems in the region,” Ahmadinejad said.

The U.S. “must accept the facts of this region: The Iraqi people do not like or support the Americans,” he said.

Addressing the allegations at a later news conference, he accused the U.S. of causing terrorism in the region.

“Six years ago, there was no terrorism in our region. As soon as strangers came to the region, the terrorists came here,” he said.

Everything about this symbolic first visit by any president of the Islamic Republic of Iran seemed choreographed to demonstrate that Iran is more welcome in Iraq than the U.S.

Unlike Bush’s trips, disclosed only after he had arrived and lasting just a few hours, Ahmadinejad announced his visit well in advance and planned to spend two days in Baghdad. He is sleeping outside the relative safety of the Green Zone in one of Saddam Hussein’s former palaces along the Tigris River, guarded by Iraqi security forces and Kurdish militia.

Where Bush and other U.S. dignitaries had been ferried from Baghdad airport to the Green Zone by helicopter, Ahmadinejad drove into town along the often-dangerous airport road in a black BMW escorted by a phalanx of white Mercedes sport utility vehicles.

Iraq and Iran are expected today to announce a series of bilateral agreements concerning trade, electricity and oil underscoring their expanding economic ties.

The owners of Boulder’s Sterling University Peaks apartments, who this summer were cited for illegally subdividing 92 bedrooms in the complex, have reached an agreement to settle the case for $410,000, the city announced Thursday.